


Foreword & Part1: From Where They Have Come

by Palefire73



Series: Prisoners. The Chronicles of Loki and Erika [1]
Category: Asgard - Fandom, Loki - Fandom, Norse Gods - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Reality, Anxiety, Confinement, Deceit, Loss, Love, Multi, Prisoners, Romance, calm, happiness, relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-03
Updated: 2017-05-03
Packaged: 2018-10-27 17:18:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10813374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Palefire73/pseuds/Palefire73
Summary: The final preparations have been made and Loki has been transported into the colossal alternate reality which will be the prison in which he will end his days.Erika is on her way to join him and commit to the biggest decision she has ever made in her life.





	Foreword & Part1: From Where They Have Come

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [States of a God's Heart.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3407576) by [Palefire73](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Palefire73/pseuds/Palefire73). 



> The Foreword is an extract from a fictitious study made in the dungeons of the Palace of Asgard regarding solitary confinement and its effects upon the individuals who are sentenced to it. I wrote it after researching studies made in various prisons around our very own Midgard and applied it to my "Lokiverse" in order to introduce just what was happening to Loki when he was imprisoned by Odin awaiting his sentence.

** Prisoners – Foreword **

 

The following is an extract from a study made of the prisoners within the Solitary Wing of the dungeons in The Palace Of Asgard, including the private wing of the All Father:

 

_Solitary confinement:_

 

A special type of imprisonment or sentence whereby the prisoner is kept in isolation for the vast majority of the day, usually at least 23 out of any 24 hours. There is little to no environmental stimulation, often ensured by the place they are kept being a featureless “cell”, i.e. four blank walls and a bed, and only a simple area in which to relieve themselves. Despite the prisoner being subjected to the absolute minimum Asgardian contact and an utter deprivation of social interaction, there is also usually no provision made for privacy. In other words, the prisoner is as a caged animal for all to see, but for whom there is no opportunity to look back. The stark white walls of the Asgardian cell simply reflect the golden light of the barrier and make looking into the relatively dark corridor beyond virtually impossible.

 

_Deleterious Effects of Solitary Confinement:_

 

  1. Loneliness – possibly thought of as obvious, this is a fundamentally damaging feeling.
  2. Social Withdrawal – upon the realisation that society has abandoned the individual, he will start to lose the ability and the will to try to interact with his fellow men.
  3. Emotional deterioration, ranging from feeling nothing at all to heightened anxiety, irrational anger (often seen most in the Jotúnns) and depression (very common in the Fair Elves).
  4. Physical deterioration, including disinterest in personal hygiene, palpitations, lethargy and oversensitivity to the rare moments of stimuli, such as being terrified when a plate of food is delivered.
  5. Mental deterioration, such as cognitive problems, nightmares, perceptual distortion, talking to oneself, hallucinations, losing one’s sense of “self” and suicidal thoughts.
  6. Self-destructive tendencies, which vary from self-harm, loss of ability to recognise that certain actions will potentially cause harm and actual attempts at suicide.



 

As a result of the endless monotony and lack of Asgardian contact, for some prisoners their solitary confinement precipitates a descent into madness, with many inmates experiencing panic attacks, depression and paranoia, and some suffer hallucinations, often believing that there are other people – or less savoury beings – there with them.

 

_Lasting Effects Of Solitary Confinement:_

 

Those individuals with stronger, more stable personalities and the ability to control their behaviour despite emotional input or lack of it, or those who are of a generally higher functioning intelligence, are not as badly affected by solitary confinement as others, especially if the period of confinement is fairly short, such as a day or perhaps up to a week.

 

However, for those who experience prolonged separation, there will be lasting effects, no matter how psychiatrically ill they became during their confinement. There will be difficulty in reintegrating into the community, problems with thinking and concentration, agitation, obsession-forming and abhorrence towards stimuli. More-over, a prolonged intolerance of social interaction will usually be experienced, which can inevitably lead to social isolation – or self-imposed solitary confinement even within the outside realm.

 

 

 

Author: No longer known

Year: Rule of Odin Borson circa 2,743

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

**Prisoners Ch1 - From Where They Have Come**

 

 

Erika looked at her reflection in the dressing room mirror for what was possibly the last time. She had come here to change for her journey which would take her into the prison which had been designed and built to house the God of Mischief, Loki, and it was going to be a one way trip. The young Asgardian – who was not far off her 18th birthday – had spent a long time in the Trickster’s service at the Palace of Asgard and had become much more to the Usurper King than a servant during that time. She had helped him through some very bad times, had suffered at his hand at even worse times and yet had still, somehow, become his confidante, his friend, and eventually his lover. However, all of that had been ruined by the fact that Loki had found himself undergoing some fundamental psychological and physical changes of late; the Jotúnn side of his nature and even the Chaos Spirit at his very core had almost overcome the Asgardian veneer and had come close to changing him irrevocably. For some reason his elevation to the highest position in the Nine, along with his habit of assuming his Jotúnn form more and more often, had led to a loss of any sort of control he may have had and he had succumbed to primitive natural forces which sent him down the path of wanting to find a productive mate and produce a new family.

 

However, there were many in the Nine who did not want Loki on the Throne of Asgard, including Odin and Thor, and it was not long before they and other dissenters put plans into action to get him off it. Many events all coincided in a great coup, which was complicated by the invasion of Asgard by opportunistic criminals and it all ended with Loki being captured and thrown into a cell where he was completely isolated from the whole of the Nine for many months. He eventually lost control of himself to the inner Spirit of Chaos, which decided one day to use its fleshly vehicle to break out of its confinement and almost killed Loki in the process. A protracted period of healing was needed where he was placed in a chemically induced coma in a Soul Forge, and in this time a special prison Thor had asked for was perfected and The Vision spent several hours a week using low level of power from the Mind Gem to start to alter Loki’s perception and memories in order to convince him that the alternate reality inside the prison was a real place and that he had simply moved away from Asgard in order to lead a simpler, stress-free life.

 

There was one catch. All the calculations The Vision carried out pointed to Loki realising he was not in the real Asgard and attempting to break free within five months. The only thing which seemed to vastly improve the level of success was the presence of another person for whom he cared, and that is where Erika came in. After his rejection of her in order to pursue his half bred Jotúnn lover Aida, Erika had moved far away from Asgard in order to try to get over Loki and to make a new life for herself, but it had not been long before she found herself being dragged back into the God’s life when Thor asked her possibly one of the most difficult questions she had ever faced: _would she be willing to give up her freedom in order to get back the God she so desperately loved?_ Eventually she had made up her mind to do just that and had come back to Asgard to do so, but as the final preparations had been made, disaster had struck.

 

The Vision had unleashed the full power of the Mind Gem on Loki in order to finalise the scenario in which he was going to find himself in the prison once he was allowed to wake up from his chemically induced coma in a Soul Forge, but it had caused a severe reaction in the God. A psychosomatic mark which Loki had acquired in the service of Thanos had appeared on his arm and had been projected around him as he had gone into a terrible fit with wild convulsions. Somehow Erika and Thor had joined forces with Mjölnir and had managed to eradicate this mark – which read “Slave” to anyone who might see it, no matter their origin – but Odin had been horrified by all of this and had demanded that Loki be taken and placed in this “special” prison before anything else could happen. And that is where she was going now: to join him.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Eir nodded at The Vision and pressed a button on the side of The Soul Forge’s floating platform. The Vision scooped up Loki’s sleeping form and placed him on the large double bed which was going to belong to him from now on. Eir pressed another button on the Forge and it folded up into a portable device approximately the same size as a Midgardian “briefcase”, which she picked up. She looked down at Loki who was still sleeping peacefully under the sedation and stroked his pale cheek as she smiled sadly. She had treated this God and his family for over a thousand years and it was not something she could simply forget. All of his potential had died that day… in that fateful second he had chosen to let go and fall into the abyss. She shuddered; the Mind Gem must be a powerful tool indeed to be able to mess up the mind of a God such as Loki, but perhaps his true origin had lent him a natural propensity towards the chaotic, even an attraction to the psychotic images and ideas the Titan had planted in there as he had tortured him. Yet there was hope now. It was still hard to believe that a virtual nobody had managed to pierce that shell after all the efforts made by family and peers, but she had, and now she was here to rescue the lucky Trickster once again. Yet the life Erika was destined to lead was in no sense of the word a free one, was it?

 

Suddenly feeling somewhat claustrophobic in this elaborate prison, even though it was as big as the Nine itself, she indicated the door and said.

 

“Time to go. The chemical sedation will wear off within the hour. Loki will wake up and it will be six o’clock in the morning. He will have plenty of time to awaken and anticipate the arrival of Erika.” She made her way out of the house and The Vision followed her; this would be the last time she would see Loki and the sadness it caused her was deep. All she wanted to do was get back to her work and try to forget what she had been a party to and she found herself wondering if identifying him on his deathbed after an execution would have been any worse.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Erika scooped up her travel bag and exited her room to make the journey to the site of the prison entrance, which was concealed in a cliff face at the far end of the large lake which lay behind the Palace of Asgard. There was not much in her bag, the items within were simply personal effects and items of sentimental value. There was a small valise containing a few clothes waiting for her with a horse just inside the prison so that it would look as if she really had travelled light on a long journey. She made her way to the private Royal Jetty on the lake and boarded a small skiff which was soon skimming across the still, mirror-like waters of the lake. Her beautiful blonde curls fluttered out behind her in the breeze, having almost returned to the same length as before she had decided to have them cut; perhaps Loki would be pleased to see their return? When they got to the small beach, the pilot helped her down but did not look back as he steered the craft straight back out to return to the Palace, and Erika made her way to the line of trees where she quickly found the thin trail which would lead to the site.

 

As she walked along, she thought about the impending reunion. It had been a long time since she had seen the “real” Loki and she felt she had almost forgotten how to act around him. Yet it would not be the same Loki, would it? This Loki would be the one she had glimpsed beneath the veneer he had presented to the Nine back when he had chanced to rule over it. Despite all he had said and done, she had been one of the very few who had borne witness to his true self, even if it had not necessarily been voluntarily on his part. She had been fortunate enough to experience his loving side on more than one occasion and it was for this that she had fought so hard when all had been against him. For the last few months she had found herself with the luxury of having allies in the form of Thor and The Vision in her struggle to allow the man she felt Loki could be to survive and it had all led to this: a new life, no matter that they would never be truly free.

 

For just a moment Erika stopped walking. This was really it. This was her last chance to turn around and walk away from all of this, forget she had ever met Loki and go to find a completely new life somewhere else with someone new. But how could she? How could she ever forget such a creature as the one who was going to be confined within the prison lying beyond the trees only to face immediate execution if he should ever escape? It was something she would be hard-pressed to explain to someone who had never been in the presence of the green-eyed God of Mischief. She did not truly know if Loki was aware of the fact, perhaps even used it to his advantage wherever he saw fit, but his very presence could hit you like a stampeding bull. There was an indefinable magnetism about him, causing one to become captivated by him to the exclusion of all else. It was as if he somehow physically demanded one’s sole attention without actually asking for it. It was only his natural aloofness and disdain for those he perceived as weak or unworthy of his attention which created enough of a barrier to stop most people approaching him to satisfy their curiosity. He was, in a way, a self-made pariah.

 

Yet she had seen beyond this self-imposed distance and eventually he had let her past the barriers, and the rest – as they say – is history. As Erika started walking again, she did so in the firm belief that this _was_ the right thing – both for her and for Loki. Remembering that time was of the essence, she picked up her pace; if there was even the slightest chance that Loki might escape, Odin had vowed to have him tracked down and executed without mercy. And so it was that she arrived at the entrance site to see Odin, Thor and a few guards waiting for her.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The Vision looked over at Eir and nodded to indicate he had heard her. The preparations were complete and all that remained was for the chemical sedation to wear off. Loki had been placed in the large bed in the attic bedroom of the house and the hour of initiation was set at six o’clock in the morning. The Vision had spent the last half an hour or so subliminally suggesting to Loki that he had moved out here a few months ago in order to get things ready and that Erika was travelling to come to live with him. According to the “launch” story, she was to turn up at lunchtime, which would give Loki plenty of time to get out of bed, shower, dress, break his fast, care for the horses… and a whole host of other activities which The Vision was very much hoping he would enjoy carrying out. The two of them left the room and made the walk back to the old concealed building, where they exited the prison through the door and found Odin waiting expectantly with Erika and Thor.

 

The young girl looked absolutely terrified and The Vision instantly began to calculate the success of her decision. Eir saw how Odin was looking at the young maid and knew he was getting impatient about the whole matter; he simply wanted that prison locked. Well, he could wait until Eir had managed to talk to the poor girl as possibly the last ever real woman she might see. She went over to her and took her into a warm and loving embrace. “You are a brave and wonderful woman,” she whispered, “and I know you will make this a success.” She squeezed Erika tightly and the girl returned it in kind, “Thank you Eir. I am so scared… but I love him desperately. I do not want him to die!” They parted a little and Eir looked her straight in the eye, “He will not die for a long time yet, thanks to you.”

 

Erika smiled as a tear trickled down her cheek and nodded, “Will you do something for me, Eir?”

“Of course, what is it?”

Erika reached into her large bag, which she was carrying as part of her travel outfit designed to convince Loki she had come a long way. She pulled a small rosewood box out and lifted the lid to retrieve a beautiful golden hairpin encrusted with emeralds. “It is one of a pair and I have the other.” She said and handed it to the Healer. “Please give this one to my Mother and tell her I shall remember her always…oh!” She had tried so hard, but she could not hold the tears back. Eir gathered her into her arms again as she wept, “Please tell her I love her!” she sobbed, “I do not do this lightly! It is just so… so unfair!”

“I know…” murmured Eir, and shot an accusatory glance at Odin, who did not flinch in the slightest, “I know… I will travel to Middle Earth and I will pass your words and your gift to her personally. You have my word.”

“Thank you Eir.” Erika began to search her pockets for a handkerchief, but was beaten to it by Thor, who had come over to her and was holding out his own for her to use.

 

Thor looked down this brave and loyal girl who could not find it in her to abandon the God she had come to love. His blue eyes held sympathy for her and his sadness was clear to see on his handsome face as he held out his arms. Erika leaned into his firm embrace and found herself enveloped by the warmth and the earthy masculine scent of his powerful body. He stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head as he wrestled with his feelings of guilt over what it was he had asked her to do in order to keep the Trickster he had once called his brother alive. “I love you Erika,” He said, battling against tears which were threatening to choke off his words,  “I love you as a strong and noble sister and I love you for not giving up on Loki.” His deep voice rumbled in his chest against her cheek even as it reached her ears, and her affection for the Thunder God grew. He was a decent person and was torn between his love for a brother who had used every opportunity to betray him, and his duties as the Son of the All Father and as the Prince of Asgard. A thousand years of growing up with the God of Mischief could not be thrown away simply because of a few years of Loki having lost his way, however, and he was doing his damnedest to get the best of both worlds.

 

“I wish you could visit somehow.” Said Erika and she pulled away to smile up at her handsome Prince. “Keep well. Become a good King.”

Thor laughed, “I do not know that I will ever desire the Throne, Erika. But if I do become King, I hope I will be a strong and fair one.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek, “Look after him. Farewell.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The Vision turned his strange eyes upon Erika as she approached the door and the calculations he made from all of the infinite physical signals she was giving off were now much more favourable. Whatever the Healer and Thor had said to the girl had made her much more confident about taking on this formidable task.

 

“Everything is prepared for you in as thorough a way as possible.” He said as she stood at the entrance and shouldered her bag. “I have implanted many things in Loki’s mind about this new life, but all you need to know for now is that all the past troubles are behind you and you have both longed for this new life. Do not mention the Jotúnn girl to him if you can avoid it, as it is a potential trigger for adverse emotions. The same goes for Thanos and his mother, Frigga. Only respond vaguely if he brings them up. Eventually they will fade from importance to him as his new life starts to satisfy him.”

“Of course” Replied Erika distractedly, and he could see that she was now impatient to get this done. He stood to one side and watched as Erika entered through the doorway and then picked her way through the dim interior of the building on the other side and as she reached the outer door, she turned back and looked at him. Checking no one was near enough to hear him, he nodded at her and said:

“The safety measures you have insisted upon are in place. No one knows of them. Not Thor, not Odin, and definitely not Loki. They are for you and me only and I cannot express strongly enough that they must _not_ be used unless it is a life-or-death situation. I must also remind you that they are only guaranteed as long as they are not discovered from this side.”

“Thank you, Jarvis.” Erika smiled and turned to look out of the door of the building in which the door was secreted on the inside of the prison. “Farewell.” It was the last thing she said to anyone on the outside as she made her way into the life she had chosen. A life as a prisoner, but one which she had gone willingly into in order to be with the one she loved.

 

Closing the heavily constructed door on the Asgardian side, The Vision now opened the carry case he had kept close while the final goodbyes had been sent. A bright blue light shone on his face and he reached in to pick up the source. It was much smaller than many people imagined it to be, especially when one considered what it was; the source of an infinite supply of power. He picked it up and glanced over to Odin and Thor, who were watching him.

 

“Once I place this in the locking mechanism and activate it, there is virtually nothing that will unlock this prison. Are you sure you wish to proceed?”

 

Odin gave Thor no chance to respond and answered immediately. “Lock the prison.”

 

Erika heard the metallic clicks as the door behind her was locked and a pang went through her: this was it! She stayed a few more minutes, watching the alien-looking construction as she waited for the final confirmation that this was irreversible, and then it happened. The door seemed to fade in and out of reality a few times before disappearing altogether. The Vision had locked it and there was no going back.

 

Except that was not strictly true. There was a way she could communicate with The Vision if absolutely necessary, even if she could not receive anything back from him. It was a last desperate way to call everything off and be extracted from the prison, but the idea was that it would never need to be used. The Vision had taught her the very basics of binary and that, along with their own code, would be her only way to seek help if she should ever really need it. But it was there and it was a small but powerful influence on her final decision to be with Loki. She turned away from the wall she had just entered this alternate reality through and looked out to see the sun rising over the place she would be calling home. All she had to do now was find her horse, spend a couple of hours exploring the wooded lowlands and then ride down to the small holding as if she had just arrived from Asgard.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Loki had awoken to a very pleasant morning. The sun was shining brightly and was sending glorious rays of light through the beautiful twin windows opposite his bed to illuminate the covers. He had risen and after a simple breakfast he had gone out to check on the horses and to ride around the small holding to carry out a visual survey of the general repair of the walls and fences. It was an absolutely beautiful day and his spirits soared as he knew that it was going to be improved further by the arrival of his dearest friend and love, Erika. Her hair would shine like the brightest of suns and her blue eyes would match the clear skies and he almost felt fit to burst with anticipation.

 

Having returned to the house, he washed and changed before preparing everything for her. A tray of fresh shortbread was brought out of the pantry and the sweet crumbly delicacies were artfully displayed on a decorative plate which matched the porcelain he had set out for making tea. He went out to the garden and selected some very pretty cutting flowers which had a sweet scent, which he placed in a small vase on the kitchen table along with the shortbread, before arranging everything again until he was satisfied that it looked welcoming. He was so engrossed that he almost didn’t hear the sound of hooves on the stony track which led up to the small holding, but his sensitive ears picked it up and he stopped what he was doing.

 

_She was here!_

 

For what was perhaps the first time in a long time, butterflies took flight in the Trickster’s stomach and he looked nervously at the door before moving a spoon slightly to straighten it and walking from the table to the front door, which looked out on a large neat garden surrounded by a low stone wall. He drew in a deep breath and peered out of one of the tiny windows which flanked the thick wooden door and he glimpsed her tying up her horse outside the garden gate before lowering the latch to make her way in. She took time to appraise the house and she trailed her fingers through some of the feathery leaves of one of the plants in the many flower beds which lined the broad garden path. Loki swallowed down his nerves as he watched her pause to smell a couple of the flowers on her way towards the house and as he opened the door to greet her with a huge grin, he found that she was just getting to the top of the steps which led up to the wide veranda which spanned the house. She seemed to jump slightly as the door opened, and as her eyes landed on him, the bag she had been carrying fell from her hands and she covered the small distance left before he could blink.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Oh by the Norns, he looked so different!

 

He was Loki of course, of that there was no doubt, but he was different somehow. As she looked at him, her crystal blue eyes taking in every inch of him, she could see the massive change that no longer being in the Palace of Asgard had brought about in him.

 

As firstly the arrogant Prince and then the despotic King, Loki had never been a particularly healthy-looking individual despite his handsome features. Tall and very slim, he had always had a vaguely haunted look about him, which quickly descended into a dreadful ill appearance if things were not going well for him. The stress of ruling had not done him any favours, lending him poor skin condition and lines on his face which were certainly not of a youthful nature. Despite his deific attributes, he had stopped winning the battle against this deterioration in his façade and it had only added to the hawkish and aloof look about him. Of course, his choice of attire, which had been predominantly black in his more recent years, did not help in these matters, and his choice of colours had only led to his alienation as he did not fit in with the bright and warrior-like reds and golds more favoured by the Aesir Monarchy and warrior elite.

 

Yet Erika quickly took in the man who was reaching out his arms to welcome her to their new home. His hair was in traditional braids and tied back with a simple leather thong from his face, which seemed to be less hollow-cheeked than it had ever been back in Asgard. His clothing, although functional for around a small holding and stables, was still well-cut and of colours which were much gentler on his complexion, almost making him look as if he actually had some colour in his cheeks. As Loki’s eyes travelled over her and drank her in as if they had thirsted for the sight of her, she marvelled at this relaxed, happier, healthier version of the man she loved and felt her heart swell with joy as he eventually looked deep into her eyes and stroked her cheek with his thumb. Cupping her face with his hands, he whispered “My Erika…” and brought his lips to hers in a sweet kiss.

 

Forgetting for the moment just exactly where all of this was taking place, Erika reached up and curled her fingers in Loki’s braids at the nape of his neck and returned the kiss with all of the passion she had kept pent up inside for so long. For the very first time since the fateful and dreadful day she had walked into this God’s life, they were truly together with no one and nothing to drive them apart. They _were_ free after all.

 

Free to be in love.

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter has been substantially altered since I first published it because my idea as to how I want to write these stories has changed! I hope they will be an entertaining read!
> 
> Palefire73  
> x


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